"Clean" eating

OK growing up, I don't remember my mother ever cooking for us. I'm sure she did because we had to eat something. Anyways, whatever she made she didn't put a lot of thought into whether it was healthy or not.
So, here I am 30 and overweight (not blaming her) so, hubby and I are trying to over haul our (and the kids) diets. We don't eat boxed meals, I make everything (95%) myself.
So what are things you avoid, alternatives to things like lunch meat and other over processed food, we already don't do fake sugar or diet drinks, I drink water mostly and hubby drink Coke (no chance he is giving that up.)

We are *trying* to get to low/no gluten because it seems to bother my husband and 11 month olds belly and my 23m/o doesn't prefer bread so sandwiches are out of the question for him.

I'm gluten free because of celiac disease. You can make sandwiches with GF breads, bagels or even corn tortillas. Homemade mac & cheese with grilled chicken is good for lunch. Peanut butter & jelly on rice cakes? We eat a lot of GF pasta & rice for starches. Also potatos or some people like quinoa (I don't). GF Oatmeal, eggs or GF cereal/pancakes for breakfast.

Basically if you cruise the perimeter of a supermarket you will be able to steer clear of the processed crap. Feel free to PAN me if you need help going gluten free. Good luck!

You are definitley on the right track by avoiding processed foods and artificial sweetners.

I find it easier to take baby steps when changing your diet, otherwise it may be overwhelming and you'll be more likely to give up. I have gradually made changes to my family's diet over the last year and a half, and we still have room to improve.

Here are some small tweaks to try:

-Buy organic versions of the "dirty dozen" (you can save money by buying conventional for the "clean fifteen")

-Choose whole grains

-Almond or sunflower butter in place of peanut butter

-Greek yogurt in place of traditional yogurt (higher in protien and lower in surgar)

-Sweet potatoes in place of regular potatoes

-Quinoa instead of rice or pasta

-Organic chicken and beef (grassfed preferably)

Eating well is more expensive. There is not doubt about that; but, I've found that I am less wasteful (I do more meal planning and I use things before they go bad) and I eat less overall. Make your calories count by choosing things with great nutritional vaule and you won't need to eat as much.

Ok, so I highly recommend checking out 100 Days of Real Food. It's a blog, it details how a busy mom and her family transitioned to "real food". I use it as a guide still...for recipes, for info, etc.

Probably the biggest things I learned were to cut out refined (white) wheat and sugar. I don't use artificial sweetners either. Even stevia and monk fruit...check the label, many of those are processed with other crap in it (but both are fine in their pure form, so just check labels).

For wheat, look for the wording "100% whole wheat". If it just says Whole Wheat, it probably has white flour mixed in too. Again, just check labels. We only use whole wheat flour for baking. I don't consider white flour as "real food". Pasta too, I only buy whole wheat.

For meals, I try to focus on veggies since we naturally will want a lot of the "other stuff" (meat, carbs, etc).

I'd start there and decide how you feel about meat/dairy/etc. All of that is not one-size-fits-all. Definitely check out 100 Days of Real Food though, I follow her on FB and get all sorts of ideas/info that way. And her approach is very non-judgmental and utilizes familiar food...nothing crazy like chia pudding, lol.

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